Honolulu City and County sewage contracts awarded, road paving methods updated

HONOLULU—The City and County of Honolulu recently moved forward on several maintenance items pertaining to roads and sewage.

Last week, the city awarded two sewer project contracts—Lualualei Force Main and Beachwalk Pump Station.

Jennings Pacific LLC was awarded the Lualualei Pump Station Force Main System contract with a bid of $1.85 million. The project includes installation of 3,500 linear feet of 20-inch diameter dry force main and discharge manhole. Also included are the replacement of the venturi with a magnetic flow meter and the existing Concrete Masonry Unit wall. The project will begin in December 2010 and take one year.

Oceanic Companies Inc. won the bid at $4.3 million to make various improvements at the Beachwalk Wastewater Pump Station in Waikiki. The improvements to increase the reliability of the pump station include upgrading the pumps, upgrading the electrical and SCADA and instrumentation systems, rehabilitating the wetwell, repairing the roof, and improving the building’s foundations. Construction is estimated to begin in December 2010 and take two years.

The City also donated to Maui County’s Department of Public Works an asphalt spreading vehicle that is no longer needed on Oahu.

Honolulu acquired the vehicle, known as a Blaw-Knox PF180H Paver, more than 20 years ago for $146,000. After many years of service, it was replaced by more modern equipment but remained functional and available as a back-up vehicle. The city has since acquired additional equipment, and the old vehicle is no longer needed.

As part of the agreement, Maui County is responsible for all costs associated with the removal and transport of the paver unit to Maui.

The City has unveiled a new road repaving technique that its says will be faster to apply, durable, improve driving conditions, and reduce the use of heavy equipment for paving.

The method is called slurry seal, which is a mixture of aggregate, asphalt, fillers, and water, mixed according to design specifications. Slurry seal’s composition will allow the repaving of a road in a single pass that will fill small cracks and voids and create a weather-proof seal. The final surface will improve skid resistance and handling characteristics for motorists.

Industry figures estimate that slurry seal, which is considered a preventative maintenance measure, costs up to $65,000 per lane mile (one mile long by 10 feet wide). By comparison, traditional repaving methods cost $150,000 per lane mile. One California study pegged slurry seal to extend the life of road paving three to five years. The longevity of the slurry seal is dependent on the condition of the road on which it’s used.

The method is also being billed as “green.”  Slurry seal reduces the need for heavy equipment to remove old asphalt, cuts energy used to produce hot asphalt, and requires only two vehicles to apply.

The slurry seal will be used on roads in Kapahulu, Diamond Head, Aina Haina, Aikahi Park, Kaneohe, and Honokai Hale.